Internships and Work-Study Opportunities

Internships and/or Independent Studies: Unpaid, Course Credit

Students are strongly encouraged to find ways to create projects in support of their degree program that will provide unique leadership opportunities. Talk to your course advisor to structure an independent study or internship in an area of interest to you. This will provide you (the student) with experience and the administration with a valuable research service. Make sure you find a faculty or staff advisor (or both!) who has practical professional experience in your areas of interest, so you get the most out of your experience as possible. This will sometimes be the Sustainability Coordinator herself, but more often she will connect you with appropriate faculty and staff that might be able to assist.

In general, students who need experiential opportunities to fulfill some of their course credit will be given priority.

Internships: Paid

Paid internships are more likely to surface when professionals within the administration, or faculty with funding for research, have specific short-term research needs that must be addressed within a short period of time (usually a semester, but sometimes longer). These opportunities will be posted on this website when they become available.

Work-Study: Paid

Work-study opportunities are available annually with the Sustainability Office. Check with the Coordinator if you think you're interested in using your financial aid this way. Please be aware that these work-study positions are more rigorous than a "typical" work-study position, so although you will be paid more per hour, you will be expected to actively participate in assisting the Office with research and administrative duties where required.

2009 Intern Spotlights

Robert Johnson, Environmental Science and Policy Graduate Program

Rob played a huge role in assisting the Office of Sustainability with the completion of our first Greenhouse Gas Inventory in September 2008. He worked as a teaching assistant for our very first Climate Action Planning and Energy Seminar course with Professor Dann Sklarew. Rob is now working on Mason's first Climate Action plan, and on his Masters Degree in Environmental Science and Policy. Rob is interested in corporate sustainability issues, how to make sustainability principles widely understood and accessible, and how to modernize K-12 curricula to incorporate sustainability principles.

Ashlea Smith, New Century College Undergraduate

Ashlea has served as the Co-Chair for the Recycling Working Group with Mason's Recycling Manager for the past year. She has played a vital role in getting recycling guidelines published to the recycling website, initiated a Recycling Center project which will expand in coming years, and she has participated in countless other activities in support of the Office of Sustainability. She graduates in August 2009.